Here with one of my youth soccer coaches that taught me the game when I 1st started playing competitive at 14 yrs old 😁 He is one of the coaches that helped me prepare to play at Nova Southeastern University & for the Philippines National Team. ⚽️⚽️#USMNT #LetsDoThis #WestPines #LateStarter #QuickLearnerThough #Pinoy

U.S. soccer coach Juergen Klinsmann came up with a spunky letter that asked employers to forgive their staff for missing work Thursday to watch the World Cup match against Germany.

One local company, Retale, is taking the message to heart. “It’s the biggest game in U.S. history,” said Tim Gray, Retale’s head of corporate communications. “So we’re going to honor Klinsmann’s letter.”

Retale is the Chicago-based unit of Bonial International Group, a network for location-based shopping information headquartered in Berlin. Several of Chicago branch’s employees are German, forming a divide between the company’s fervent German and U.S. fans.

Gray said the company is giving its employees the morning and afternoon off to attend an office viewing party, where they can enjoy the game on a big screen television with food and beer.

Bonial International Group’s CEO, Christian Gaiser, said Klinsmann was his childhood hero because the two of them hail from the same southwest region of Germany, Swabia. “He’s one of the best coaches globally, and the best solution for the U.S. team,” Gaiser said. “He can motivate the team and manage them and make tough decisions."

While Gaiser supports the German team, he hopes both Germany and the U.S. can advance to the World Cup’s round of 16.“If it advances, I think the U.S. will develop a stronger appetite for soccer,” he said.